Chapter Seven: A Harlequin Romance

~BlackRoseRaven

Twilight Sparkle smiled faintly as she stepped hesitantly into Fluttershy's room at the hospital, knocking once on the door, and Rainbow Dash glanced up from where the blue Pegasus was sitting at her bedside. She smiled faintly, studying Twilight for a moment before nodding to her and saying quietly: "Hey, I was just about to come and get... where's Scrivener? Fluttershy's been asking for him."

"Has she?" Twilight cocked her head curiously, then she softened as she gazed towards the blonde Pegasus: she was bruised and battered, her coat more purple and red and black than it was golden from the savage beating she had taken. Bandages covered her, and her pretty mane had been unevenly cut back: both because they had been forced to do an operation to relieve a pressure buildup in her brain, and because whoever had done this had sliced off much of her pink locks. Machines beeped on the other side of the bed, monitoring how she was, and tubes stuck out from beneath the sheets that covered her, feeding into bags hanging off metal stands and other strange machinery.

The violet mare slowly shook her head as her features darkened, looking at the Pegasus as she murmured: "Poor Fluttershy... are there any leads on who did this?"

"None at all." Rainbow sighed and shook her own head, then she hesitated before prompting almost apprehensively: "Scrivener..."

"Oh. Sorry, I just... seeing her... like this..." Twilight silently reached out, pulling the blankets up a bit as she shivered a little, then she glanced over at Rainbow Dash and answered quietly: "Scrivy is going to come by in the afternoon. He wanted to come by with me now, but I had to remind him that he had an appointment with Dr. Duck to go to. So I thought I'd... come by here now, get Scrivener's prescription filled at the pharmacy, and then meet him for lunch. Then he'll be by in the afternoon."

"Good. Fluttershy will be glad to see him." Rainbow looked at the pony laying in bed quietly, and then the blue Pegasus sighed a bit before turning her eyes to Twilight, saying hesitantly: "You and him... you're good for each other, yeah? He doesn't..."

"He's what I want... and what I need." Twilight smiled a little glancing over at Rainbow softly before she shook her head slowly. "Don't worry about me, okay? Besides, Fluttershy... needs our help right now. Everything else can wait."

Rainbow Dash nodded slowly, shaking her head before she sighed and cracked her back, muttering: "Yeah, you're right, and... Scrivener's a good guy. And you're a good friend too, Twilight. I'm glad Fluttershy has you both looking helping me to look out for her."

The unicorn nodded, and then the blue Pegasus smiled a bit, saying finally: "If you don't mind, I'm gonna go home, get a shower, and catch a nap. Been here most of the night and morning... and if you don't mind, I think I'll come back in the afternoon, too. See what the whole fuss is about... maybe what Fluttershy has to tell Scrivy will open up some memories or something about what really happened."

"Yeah." Twilight said finally, and then she shook her head slowly before finally smiling a little, glancing over at Dash and saying quietly: "I'm sorry if I've... ever been short with you or anyone else or... clingy... to Scrivy. If I've ever... made you guys uncomfortable. I just... you know."

"It's okay, Twilight." Rainbow Dash smiled a little, looking strangely relieved before she nodded and headed for the door, saying softly: "Be gentle with her if she wakes up, huh? She's been... really scared. More than usual I mean, but I guess that's... that's understandable, isn't it?"

Rainbow closed her eyes, then she shook her head and turned, heading out the door as Twilight gazed after her softly before the violet mare turned her eyes back to the Pegasus laying in the hospital bed. This room felt so small, so desolate, with only the beep of machinery and the poor, wounded pony laying in bed... and Twilight sighed softly as she reached out and touched her shoulder silently, closing her eyes and bowing her head forwards as she whispered: "It's going to be okay, Fluttershy. Okay? I promise you that it's going to be okay, and this will all be over soon. I... I hope you can hear me. I hope you believe me. I hope... I hope you know we're all trying our hardest to make things better. To fix things."

She fell quiet, then looked down and studied her friend's face before hesitating... and finally smiling a little, reaching into her satchel bag at her side to pull out a notebook and quill. She jotted a short, quick message, and folded it so it could stand and face the Pegasus so she would know who had been here before finally getting to her hooves.

She hesitated a moment longer... then simply shook her head and murmured quietly: "No, better to let you sleep through this. It'll be okay, Fluttershy. I promise."

With that, the unicorn turned and headed out into the hospital corridor, passing a few nurses as she glanced at her satchel and made her way towards the exit.

The hospital was slowing down as lunch arrived, patients who were well enough for it and doctors both making their way down to the cafeterias, others returning to rooms and offices. A few still patrolled the halls, but none of them thought anything was out of the ordinary even as a pony with a painted face and a red-and-black jester's costume carefully pushed a large wooden cart down the hall.

The cart was painted with smiling faces and happy animals, and a bunch of balloons were tied to it, of every color, all large and rotund. The pony paused as she passed a mother and a young foal who were making their way out of another patient's room, and the clown smiled as she pulled a balloon free from the cart, leaning over and saying gently: "Here, sweetie. Smile, you'll feel better."

The foal smiled brightly up at the clown, who winked and flicked her head, making the bells of her jester's cap jangle. Her ivory-painted features returned the smile, exaggerated by her black lipstick and obsidian eyeliner, and then she giggled a little as she went back to pushing her cart forwards, humming a little under her breath before halting at the door to Fluttershy's room.

She reached out and pushed it slowly open, then smiled and swiveled the cart to carefully push inside, balloons gently scraping against the top frame of the door as she called kindly: "Wakey-wakey, honey! Someone saw this room looked boring, so they sent a little something to spruce it up, sweetie..."

The clown pranced forwards as Fluttershy stirred weakly in bed, eyes slowly opening... and then staring in horror, beginning to tremble violently as the clown untethered the bunch of balloons and strode calmly forwards, her eyes half-lidded, her smile predatory. Fluttershy shook her head wildly, and the clown giggled quietly before she leaned forwards and easily swept the call button away from Fluttershy's hoof, whispering around the strings in her mouth: "Oh, no. Come on, sweetie, we haven't even decorated your room yet..."

With that, the clown began to tie the balloons, one-by-one, to Fluttershy's headboard. She tied them slowly, Fluttershy spasming on the bed, eyes rolling in fear as she tried to gargle out something, anything, but the clown only giggled as she pulled the strings tight, tied the balloons so they floated low and ominous only a foot or so above the Pegasus' head, as the clown whispered: "Now, we can't have you telling our little secret, can we? Thankfully the only pony who saw was the lunatic... and now, you'll never be able to make him see the truth. The truth dies with you, honey... he'll just go on thinking he's crazy, and eventually everyone will quietly accept that bad things happen to good ponies, and that's that. Everyone's happy!"

The clown finished tying the balloons in a bright rainbow of colors that hovered low over Fluttershy before she straightened and headed back to her cart, smiling positively as she pulled a side door on it open. A moment later, the clown grunted and yanked out a large metal cylinder and an uninflated balloon, slipping this over a nozzle sticking out of the top of the large canister.

She spun a valve, and the balloon quickly filled up, becoming round and large and strangely obscene as the clown pulled it away from the hissing nozzle, humming softly as she tied this easily off. The nozzle continued to spew its gases into the air, but the clown paid it no heed as she reached into the cart and pulled out a pre-cut line of string, knotting this around the bottom of the balloon and then smiling warmly as she easily tied it to the bottom of the bed.

Fluttershy whimpered weakly as the balloon floated into the air, and the clown stepped back, letting the hissing canister fall with a terrible, loud clang before she booted it hard, sending it rolling under the Pegasus' bed. The terrified pony stared at the clown as the somehow-ghastly figure grinned at her, then turned and bounced cheerfully out of the room, leaving Fluttershy alone.

The Pegasus shifted back and forth in bed, but she was too weak to get up, breathing hard in and out and trying to scream, but barely managing a loud rasp. She could hear the cylinder still hissing, still filling the air around her as the balloons all swayed slowly above... and then she twitched in horror and looked up as the clown bounced back into the room, chiding: "Sorry, silly me! I forgot something."

With that, the clown reached into the cart she had left behind, then pulled out a silver lighter, winking at Fluttershy before she headed out of the room and began to close the door behind her. Then she glanced up in surprise as a nurse approached, the pony tilting her head and asking curiously: "Excuse me, but what are you doing?"

"Oh, a friend of Fluttershy's hired me to set up a small surprise for her, that's all." The clown smiled and pushed the door open, showing off the balloons as the Pegasus on the bed twitched, then desperately tried to raise her head, to scream, to do something that would get the nurse's attention. "Isn't it lovely?"

"Well, how nice! Fluttershy... Fluttershy, is something wrong?" The nurse approached quickly as the clown once more pulled the door mostly closed with a smile, then she flicked the lighter open in one hoof before clicking the wheel, and easily tossing it in through the door as she spun around on her heel and hopped down the hall.

And she only grinned and continued to bounce easily forwards even as an explosion ripped through the air behind her, blowing the door off the hospital room as flames spread greedily up the wall and screams of agony and terror filled the air. Soon, they mixed with the fire alarm as ponies ran into the hall, panicking, the clown patiently making her way through the crowd with a bright smile on her face even as the sprinkler system began to wash away her makeup. Yet she was barely noticed, ponies all too busy trying to save themselves and find out what was going on as many rushed for the exits and others only added to the furor with their cries and rioting.

Not long after the hospital fell into chaos, Twilight Sparkle was all-but-shoved out of the front doors of the hospital by the surging crowd, looking over her shoulder in anxiety the moment the crowd stopped pushing her along to spot smoke rising from the third floor. The floor Fluttershy was on, as she shook her head in denial and trembled a bit, before she flinched in surprise as Scrivener's voice shouted to her: "Twilight!"

"Scrivy?" Twilight spun dumbly around as Scrivener pushed through the crowd towards her, and then the violet mare hurried to meet him halfway, the two colliding with each other as she hugged him fiercely. "I thought you were at your appointment..."

"Yeah, we didn't need the full hour." Scrivener muttered, and then he grimaced and looked up at the hospital, asking: "What happened, do you know?"

"N-No... I... I was on my way out and I heard the fire alarm go off..." Twilight shook her head hurriedly, looking up with fear at Scrivener. "It all happened so fast... I... but that's where Fluttershy..."

"Oh no." Scrivener whispered, staring up at the window and shaking his head in denial. "But who... what would... why..."

Twilight clung to him, burying her face against his neck, leaving wet smears over him as Scrivener hugged her fiercely and looked down at her silently. She was trembling, so scared that her eyes seemed darker, dripping with water from the sprinkler system as other ponies milled around and scared shouts rang up from the grounds around the hospital exterior.

It was twenty minutes before the fire chief finally strode up in front of the building, saying curtly: "We've put out the fire, but it already looks like this arson. Two ponies have been killed... a nurse, and a patient who was in care on the third floor, and we won't be releasing their names. We'll need to speak to anyone who visited patient 307 short-"

"No!" Twilight yelled almost desperately, and all eyes turned towards her before she fell against Scrivener, burying her face against his neck and beginning to sob as the earth pony held her tightly, squeezing her close. "F-F-Fluttershy..."

An officer was hurrying towards them, and Scrivener looked up and motioned at the police pony to wait a moment. Then the charcoal stallion kissed Twilight's forehead before gently shushing her and leading her carefully forwards, the crowd whispering and staring at them as Scrivener said quietly to the officer as he passed: "You need to send messengers to Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack. They'll all want to know what happened. But Rainbow has been here constantly... she might know if anyone was lingering around the room."

The officer nodded, and Scrivener turned his attention forwards, letting himself be led by a waiting firepony to a quieter area where a fire engine and several police wagons were sitting. As Twilight calmed down, officers and fireponies ran back and forth, largely avoiding each other as they argued over who should be doing what.

Eventually, an investigator walked over to them, the aging Pegasus pony saying quietly: "I'm Detective Shield. You have my condolences for the loss of your friend... we think we figured out how... how this happened. We found the remains of a canister... we're fairly certainly it contained hydrogen. Someone snuck it in with what looked like a wooden cart, filled with party favors for kids... balloons, things like that. Whoever inspected it probably just assumed it was full of helium.

"The hydrogen was allowed to fill the room, then ignited to set off the blast. Your friend... was killed instantly. The nurse was badly scorched, but... it was the shock and trauma that killed her." He fell silent, then looked quietly at Twilight Sparkle as reached up and rubbed a hoof through his pepper mane. "The logs show you left around the time of the explosion. Did you see anything, anything at all, that was suspicious?"

Twilight trembled, shaking her head and looking down as she shifted a bit, leaning against Scrivener and whispering: "I just... I left her a note because she was asleep, after Rainbow Dash left... she... oh god, this is all my fault..."

"No, no... no it's not." Scrivener said quietly, looking at the violet mare silently and reaching up to stroke slowly through her mane, and Twilight turned to bury her face against him, breathing hard before he frowned a bit and asked quietly: "Do you know if anypony else saw anything?"

"We're checking the logs, but the cart was quickly identified by some of the staff. It was being pushed by a pony dressed as a clown, who likely slipped in under the pretense of handing out balloons at the children's ward or something." Shield shook his head slowly, then he looked up and said quietly: "This was clearly a targeted attack, not a random act of violence, especially with the fact the victim was earlier assaulted... and you... you're Scrivener Blooms, aren't you?"

"That's right!" Twilight looked up suddenly, making both Scrivener and Shield look at her with surprise as she trembled, then said hurriedly: "R-Rainbow Dash said... Fluttershy wanted to tell you something! That..."

She was cut off by a loud yell, and Shield and the other ponies all looked up to see a rainbow blur tear through the air, flying up towards the smoking, shattered window as other Pegasi pursued after the shape. It easily shook them off, however, leaping inside... and then there was a howl of pain and misery before Twilight clenched her eyes shut, and Scrivener lowered his head as the violet mare whispered: "Rainbow..."

"Do you know what it was that Fluttershy wanted to tell Scrivener?" asked the Detective quickly, and when Twilight only shook her head, Shield nodded and sighed before he stepped back, the graying pony brushing back his long overcoat. "Then excuse me. I had better take this opportunity while I can to go and speak to your friend. I'll be back with her shortly."

Scrivener and Twilight both nodded... and true to his word, the Detective returned with a trembling Rainbow Dash in tow, the blue mare shivering and breathing hard as she shook her head weakly. For a few moments, she looked across at Scrivener and Twilight... and then she stumbled around the table, and both ponies stepped forwards to hug her tightly, Rainbow Dash half-collapsing as she whispered: "I s-shouldn't've left..."

"No, this isn't your fault... for all we know, whoever did this was waiting for you to leave... or you could be dead up there right now, too." Scrivener said quietly, as Twilight only clung to her friend. Rainbow looked up weakly, almost disbelievingly, and Scrivener smiled faintly as he trembled a bit and said quietly: "I've had... lots of practice losing people. In the real world and in my own head."

The Pegasus closed her eyes, bowing her head forwards, as Detective Shield watched them silently for a few moments. Then the investigator finally cleared his throat, saying quietly: "I'm going to give you three some time. But tomorrow, I plan to come by and speak to each of you again, once we have more details on what's happened here."

Scrivener nodded silently as Twilight and Rainbow Dash both only looked up weakly, and the investigator hesitantly nodded back before he turned and left, tossing one last apprehensive look over his shoulder at them. Scrivener shoved away his paranoia before it could rise up, instead turning his eyes back towards Rainbow Dash, asking quietly: "Did... what..."

Rainbow trembled, then looked up at him and simply shook her head slowly, clenching her eyes shut as she whispered: "I can't... I... I can't... the... the smell. I'm never going to forget that smell, the sight, the... the... oh g-g-god..."

The Pegasus shoved herself away, taking a few steps before she leaned over and retched a few times, and Scrivener closed his eyes as Twilight looked up with a tremble, asking weakly: "Did... was there... do you know..."

Rainbow rasped for breath, shivering once before she slowly looked over her shoulder at them, tears spilling down her cheeks as she whispered: "All I know is that she wanted to talk to you, Scrivener. That she had something to tell you..."

"It... it must have been about what she said at the bar. She was killed because she knew something..." Scrivener closed his eyes, trying to think, to add things together in his mind as he whispered: "About my home, about where I come from, something must be trying to-"

"Goddammit, you're making this about you?" Rainbow shouted angrily, rounding on him suddenly as she glared at him with fury and despair. "No! You're insane! You're nothing but a goddamn crazy lunatic, and she got killed because she knew who hurt her, who was after her! They killed her to keep her quiet, not because you're some magic pony from a different goddamn dimension! And I don't know why she put her faith in you of all ponies, why she would only talk to you of all ponies, and n-not me, not her b-b-best friends, but a stupid piece of garbage scumbag n-nutjob who... w-who... Scrivener..."

Rainbow stuttered out, choking on her own words, trembling violently as Scrivener quietly pushed Twilight away and looked silently over at the Pegasus... and then he closed his eyes and strode towards her, reaching up to simply hug her silently. For a moment, Rainbow snarled... but then it vanished into sobs as she buried her face against the side of Scrivener's neck and simply gave vent to her misery.

The charcoal stallion held tightly onto her, breathing hard as he held her close, then whispered quietly: "Rainbow... I'm sorry."

Rainbow only shook her head weakly, then she finally pulled away and rubbed furiously at her eyes, trembling before she looked up and rasped: "I don't care. I... I don't care what you believe, or what you think, or anything. But I do goddamn c-care about Fluttershy, and making sure that we... that we... don't let this go unpunished. Do... do you understand me? I... I need your help. P-Please..."

"And we'll... we'll do this, together. We'll find the answer." Scrivener promised quietly, nodding slowly, and Rainbow nodded firmly back before she gritted her teeth and locked gazes with him.

For a moment longer she was silent... and then she whispered through grit teeth, so quiet that not even Twilight could hear, and yet to Scrivener every word echoed through his mind: "And when we find the bastard who did this... you're going to help me m-m-make them suffer..."

Scrivener closed his eyes, shivering once... and then his chestnut eyes simply flicked up, giving an almost tangible flash, and Rainbow grinned through her tears: and it was not a pleasant expression as she nodded slowly once. "Good."

With that, Rainbow shook herself out and then threw herself into the air, flapping her wings hard and propelling herself skywards, and Scrivener trembled as he looked slowly up at the hospital before shaking his head quickly out, murmuring to Twilight weakly: "Come on. We... let's get out of here. I... I feel sick to my stomach."

Twilight nodded slowly, breathing hard as she turned to follow him as they slowly made their way back to the library. By now, Scrivener thought, everypony in town knew what had happened... and it was no surprise when they found the library empty, but worried letters left for them all over the table. For the moment, however, Twilight ignored these as she turned her eyes to Scrivener, the two brushing themselves off as they sat on either side of the table before Twilight finally asked quietly: "Were you... Rainbow Dash, she asked you to..."

"Yes." Scrivener said quietly, looking slowly up, and Twilight studied him before she simply nodded. And Scrivener smiled in faint surprise and almost bitter gladness, even as he asked: "You don't have a problem with the fact that... I..."

"Not... in this case." Twilight slowly looked to the side, then she closed her eyes and trembled once before whispering: "Scrivener... you... you should teach me more about... that side of you. Just... because... I'm curious."

Scrivener was silent, and Twilight turned her eyes to him, the two regarding one-another quietly before the earth pony said softly: "It's not something... most people want to know about. To learn about. It's not a fun subject, or an easy subject. It's... evil."

"Maybe... I like the fact that you're a little evil." Twilight said quietly, studying him silently, and then she slowly walked around the table, looking down into his eyes before reaching her hooves up, grasping his shoulders tightly as she looked down at him, and he looked back up at her. She swallowed slowly, and Scrivener tilted his head a bit before she reached down and grasped one of his front hooves, guiding it to her chest, holding it there so he could feel the thud of her heart. "What will you do to the pony who did this?"

"I don't know. I don't... want to know." Scrivener shivered and tried to look away, but Twilight quickly reached her free hoof up, catching his cheek, forcing him to look at her again as his other hoof remained held tightly against her breast. For a few moments, there was silence, and then he asked quietly: "Why are you so interested?"

"I want to be more like you, puddin'. I want to be the best I can be for you... I want to share in all your hobbies... good and bad." Twilight replied quietly, then she slowly leaned forwards and whispered in his ear: "I want to share everything with you."

Scrivener closed his eyes, feeling the beat of her heart as he heard the implications in her words, shivering a little bit before he murmured quietly: "You know, they say a masochist and a sadist is a match made in Heaven, assuming Heaven has a little bit of Hell in it."

"Everything, and everyone, all have a little bit of Hell inside them." Twilight replied quietly, studying his features before he slowly stroked under his muzzle, smiling faintly as her heart thudded slowly, powerfully. "But maybe, if you look hard enough, you can find Heaven inside that Hell, too."

"Pain is pleasure." Scrivener muttered, and then he shook his head and grimaced a bit, a shiver running down his spine as he looked up at her and said quietly: "Twilight... you don't have to do this. You... you don't want to do this."

"I do." Twilight gave him a strange smile as she leaned forwards and touched a hoof to his chest, whispering: "Oh, you have no idea how much I do. After all, what could make us closer than sharing blood and nightmares and pain as well as pleasure and all these good things? Everything that's happened... everything that's taken place... all it goes to show is that bad things happen to good ponies all the time, that so much of the world's truth is primal hunger and random violence and lust and self-preservation... give me this, Scrivener. Make me your prey: be my hunter, and my protector. Take away the random chance that some pony is going to come and do violence to me by doing violence to me yourself..."

"Your... that... that makes no sense..." Scrivener turned hurriedly away, flushing, before Twilight seized him almost painfully by the face, leaning forwards as she looked half-desperately, half-longingly down into his eyes.

He gazed back, breathing hard in and out through his mouth before the violet mare leaned slowly down and kissed him, working her mouth against his, urging him to returning it before their lips parted and she leaned up to murmur into his ear: "Give it to me... give me pleasure, give me pain... and I'll make you forget about everything else for a little while..."

Scrivener clenched his eyes shut, cursing weakly as he reached up to shove at her shoulders, but Twilight's eyes almost glowed as she pushed back roughly, insistently, making his blood boil, her words echoing through his mind as he felt awful, voracious hungers rising up through his body... and next thing he knew, he was standing in the bathroom, breathing hard as he stared into the mirror at his own pale features.

He leaned forwards, hooves resting to either side of the reflective glass as a shiver rolled through him... and then he cursed under his breath weakly, shaking his head in denial before his eyes returned to his reflection. Then he twitched, his eyes widening in horror as the image of him in the mirror grinned eagerly out at him, eyes glowing like spotlights...

The earth pony shoved himself hurriedly backwards, breathing hard and shaking his head out violently, trembling a bit before he looked back up at his reflection... and again, saw only his pale, paranoid features. He breathed slowly in and out before shivering and grabbing at his face, whispering: "What is going on... we just... I just... and Fluttershy's corpse isn't even cold yet..."

"I'm just trying to find a way to cope." said a voice from behind him, and Scrivener looked over his shoulder with surprise to see Twilight Sparkle there, smiling faintly at him as she leaned in the bathroom doorway. Scrivener looked at her, and she gazed back at him before the violet mare closed her eyes and lowered her head forwards, whispering: "Maybe that's why I wanted you to hurt me, Scrivener. Because I needed that pain and that pleasure to wash away... all the thoughts about how I failed Fluttershy..."

There was silence for a few moments... and then Scrivener finally nodded slowly before the unicorn shook her head with a shiver. "But... but you're right. I... I don't know what came over me, I'm sorry. We're... we're good for each other, but we're bad for each other too, aren't we? We influence each other's... darkness, as well as keep each other... balanced." She shivered a bit, then laughed faintly and slowly looked up, whispering: "I warned you that I was a bad pony too."

Scrivener only shook his head at this, however, closing his eyes and murmuring: "You're not a bad pony, Twilight, and... and you don't have bad instincts. It's just... everything that's happening, maybe, all these different emotions that are running rampant all at once... it's... we're all just trying to find our ways to deal with it."

Twilight nodded a little, then she sighed softly and turned around, and Scrivener watched her leave before he shook his head. He washed his face and tried to calm himself down, then joined Twilight a few minutes later in the main room, smiling faintly over at her as he asked quietly: "How are you feeling?"

"Pretty awful. And..." Twilight blushed, looking down and silently rubbing a hoof over her body as she whispered: "You know. Other things, too. I don't know why, but... I... well... no, we just need to focus on other things. Rainbow would be so mad at us if she knew, and... so would everyone else. And they'd have every right to be, too..."

"Twilight..." Scrivener said softly, and then he sighed and shook his head out a bit, smiling faintly at her as he strode over to sit quietly at the table with her. They only looked at each other, and then the charcoal stallion bowed his head to her quietly, saying finally: "We'll get through this... okay?"

The violet mare smiled faintly at him, nodding slowly in return as she looked at him trustingly, almost naively... and yet Scrivener thought there was something else in her eyes, too. Something deeper, darker, and that sent a chill along his spine; something that made her devotion to him seem not like a blessing, but more like a warning of a worsening storm.


Shield came and spoke to them again several times over the course of the week: he seemed like a good pony, and was dedicated to finding Fluttershy's killer... although he'd warned Rainbow several times not to do anything she might later regret. But as the police investigation slowed down and leads turned up nothing, Rainbow became more fanatical in her need to find out who had done this to Fluttershy... to the point she was scaring Rarity and Pinkie Pie, and maybe even Twilight.

Applejack was trying her best to soothe Rainbow, and had put aside her lingering concerns about Scrivener Blooms to spend time with them both. Scrivener was thankful for it... even if it didn't seem like Big Mac liked him very much, and Apple Bloom was downright scared of him now, which hurt the stallion strangely deeply.

When the weeks became a month, and Ponyville as a whole tried to start moving on from what had happened to Fluttershy, Rainbow had seemed betrayed. All she could think about was that there was a torturer and murderer on the loose, that someone had done horrible things to an innocent, loving, wonderful Pegasus who had never raised a hoof against anypony... and now they were simply giving up. They were letting the monster get away. Shield, Scrivener, everypony tried to reassure her that wasn't the case, but Rainbow wouldn't, couldn't listen... could only focus on doing everything in her power to avenge her friend.

The others were trying to move on: Rarity said Fluttershy wouldn't want them focusing on revenge... that they had to be like her, patient, and graceful, and careful. And Applejack tried to reason with Rainbow, said that she wanted to catch whoever did this too, but that maybe letting the killer think they got away with it would be the best thing right now... they might get cocky, they might make a mistake, they might try something else that would lead to them getting caught.

And Rainbow spent a lot of time with Scrivener Blooms, talking with him, going over things with him. Her plans for revenge, her thoughts, her suspicions, everything. She was furious and bordering on paranoid and a mess, and yet Scrivener knew the only thing he could do was be there at her side, talk with her, and try and gently turn her away from the path she was on... even as he answered her questions willingly about what he knew about darker things.

Sometimes Twilight sat with them, but often, Rainbow would get uncomfortable: a good sign, Scrivener thought. Rainbow got nervous not because she didn't like expressing her ideas in front of Twilight, but because Twilight had a bit too much of a dark fascination with the things Scrivener would sometimes start talking about, would look a little too excited at times, got a bit too vivid and detailed in her own thoughts and descriptions.

Scrivener knew that Rainbow wanted revenge: what he wasn't sure of yet was what would happen when they did catch whoever hurt Fluttershy. His hope, though, was that while Rainbow might lay a righteous beating into the monster that did it... she would falter before she took things too far. She would seek justice, not brutal revenge or even callous retribution... and now, as they sat together more than a month after the arson at the hospital in the library, Rainbow hesitantly looked across the table at him and asked quietly: "Scrivener, I don't like to bring this up... but... Twilight has... I saw that Twilight has some bruises on her. Do you... wanna explain that to me?"

The charcoal stallion glanced down, then he shook his head quietly, feeling a rumble run through his body as he breathed slowly in and out. Then Rainbow leaned forwards, reaching a hoof across the table as her red eyes locked on him, making him draw his gaze up to meet hers almost shamefully as she said quietly: "Just tell the truth, okay? I'm not leaping to conclusions here, I'm your friend. I want to hear your story before I decide if I gotta kick your flank or not."

Scrivener smiled faintly after a moment, then he tossed an almost nervous look towards the door, before his eyes drew slowly around the library interior. For a few moments, he was silent as he took everything in, let himself really see the way things had changed. How the books had been resorted messily in the shelves, and erotic fiction and books on sex had been left out in the open. At the bedding on one side of the room, and the beaded curtain that now hung and separated this almost-dangerous kingdom of books from the back room where Spike spent most of his time, amongst the fiction and the children's stories, with his fortress of blankets and pillows and a few stuffed animals.

The charcoal stallion's eyes drew back to the table, and they settled for a moment on another empty chair: a set of leather reins hung off the back of this, casually left out in the open... and it was no wonder ponies didn't like coming by anymore, and especially didn't like their foals stopping in. He grimaced a bit as he felt his mind spark, shuddering with the epiphany as he muttered: "Twilight and I have really fallen hard, haven't we?"

"Yeah. So tell me what's going on, dude." Rainbow said quietly, and Scrivener closed his eyes before nodding slowly, giving a soft sigh after a moment.

"We get... rough, sometimes." Scrivener began slowly, bowing his head forwards, and he wanted to look away, wanted to not say anything, wanted to lie... but he forced himself to keep his gaze locked with Rainbow's even as shame rollicked through him, mixing with his paranoia, his fear... and ever since he'd been taking the ULT meds, that festering, rumbling fire that sometimes burst up and made him act almost... animal, aggressive, made it harder for him to hold back. "She... Horses of Heaven, Rainbow, I... I know what this sounds like, but she likes it when I... when I..."

He swallowed slowly, and Rainbow shook her head slowly, Scrivener feeling a burst of pain as he dropped his head and whispered: "She knows just what buttons to press, Rainbow. And I wanna blame her and I wanna blame the fact I'm still on the ULT and I want to blame everything else but... I know it's my fault, yeah. And I know I probably do deserve to get the snot beaten out of me. But... she... asks for it. I mean literally, she literally asks me to... especially when we're... I..."

He shivered and shook his head hurriedly, and Rainbow looked silently across at Scrivener before she said softly: "I thought you were better than that, Scrivy. You know... you know she's not well, don't you?"

"Yeah. I do. And... I'm not." Scrivener glanced to the side, shaking his head a bit. "Look at me, Rainbow, I spent most of my life believing that... I was some kind of... special. But I'm not. I lived in fantasy and delusion for years after losing Luna, and now I've got Twilight and... I can't even do what's right for her. I'm just... corrupting her. Hurting her. Ruining her. I still... I still cling to the hope that none of this is... that I'm not insane, but what does that mean, Rainbow? It means I'm not only hurting Twilight and using her, it means that I'm only waiting for the day I can up and abandon her to go back home. What kind of scumbag am I?"

"Scrivener, now I'm pretty sure you just want me to come over and there and smack the hell out of you, and I'm not going to." Rainbow sighed, shaking her head slowly and glaring across at him, and the charcoal stallion smiled faintly as their eyes met. "But this stuff with Twilight... it's gotta stop. Even if she likes it, even if she wants it, you... you gotta stop. You're better than that... and the only reason I might half-believe you is because... lately, Twilight's gotten so... so weird."

Rainbow Dash glanced to the side, shivering a bit, and Scrivener frowned at her before the Pegasus muttered: "She's not... I haven't seen her... you know, hurting herself or anything, but it's... the way she looks so excited when ponies start talking about pain. Hell, the way she reacts to seeing other people's pain these days... Pinkie Pie said she was helping look after the Cake foals the other day when Twilight came in to pick up an order, and poor Pound Cake took a nasty fall out of the air and got a big nasty scrape on his head. Poor kid is wailing away and Pinkie's freaking out, but she's sharper than we give her credit for, you know? She still saw Twilight grinning, licking her lips, like she... like she liked it. Like she was drinking up that kid's suffering..."

"Oh God." Scrivener grimaced and leaned back, and when Rainbow looked at him, the charcoal stallion looked away with a flush and mumbled: "That was two days ago, wasn't it? Because Twilight came back... excited... and... wanted me to..."

He broke off, then shook his head out hurriedly and whispered: "I know. I know this has gotta stop. You're right, Dash, and... I just... this is all my fault. She tried to change herself for me, she kept talking about wanting to be more like me, and she's warped herself into this... this..."

"Psycho." Rainbow muttered, and Scrivener hesitated, beginning to open his mouth before they both looked up as the door to the library was booted open, and both ponies stared as Twilight stormed angrily in, her eyes almost glowing with fury.

"Puddin', don't you listen to her!" Twilight said sharply, looking at Scrivener as her eyes turned pleading for a moment, and then she snarled and glared over at Rainbow Dash. "And you... you backstabbing bitch. I knew you wanted him all for yourself... trying to convince my puddin' that I'm sick in the head, so you can sweep in and steal him away, is that it?"

"Twilight, look at yourself!" Rainbow shouted angrily back after a moment, even though hurt flashed in her eyes and she still looked shocked. But Twilight only snarled, the bruising over one side of her face almost proudly on display alongside her glinting piercings, clasp of her collar gleaming, and bandaging now covering most of one leg... and Scrivener looked at the last dumbly as he realized she hadn't been wearing that when she'd left. "What would Celestia think? What would your big brother think? Twilight, listen to me-"

"No, you listen to me!" Twilight shouted, and her voice almost cracked the windows with how loud it was, Scrivener and Rainbow both wincing backwards before the violet mare approached slowly, snarling and hackles raised, looking as fierce and intimidating as a dragon. "How I live my life is my business, not yours. What I like, that's my business too. And if you got such a problem with it, Rainbow, you come and talk to me about it instead of goin' behind my back and talkin' to my puddin', do you hear me? You're just jealous and angry... I gots a stallion, after all, a stallion I knows how to please, and you don't got nopony!"

Scrivener shivered as he leaned back a bit, hearing the fanaticism in her voice, staring at her: this wasn't the Twilight he knew... except no. As she grinned, as she leaned forwards aggressively, as her eyes burned and her very voice changed, he realized this was the dark Twilight. The savage Twilight, who came out at her primal moments, who encouraged his hungers, who fed off pain and passion. "What's wrong, sweetie? Something got your tongue? That's probably good, 'cause if you keep flappin' it I might have to show you what happens to naughty ickle girls who talk outta turn."

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Rainbow yelled raggedly, shoving up from the table and striding towards Twilight... and then the Pegasus gasped, head wrenching to the side when Twilight punched her hard across the face.

Rainbow shivered violently, breathing hard in and out through her mouth, too shocked to react before Twilight seized her short mane and dragged her head up and in close, making her curse before the violet mare leaned forwards and whispered fiercely enough into her ear that Scrivener could hear every word: "Keep this up, toots, and I'll do a lot more than bruise that pretty face of yours. Sometimes I get bored, see, and worse, sometimes my puddin' needs a little pick-me-up. And nothin' makes him happier than when he gets to put his special talents to use, when he gets to teach people to smile by-"

"Get off me!" Rainbow tore herself backwards and free from Twilight, breathing hard and staring in horror at her before she shook her head wildly and shouted desperately: "You need help, Twilight! God, what is wrong with you?"

"Nothing! I ain't got nothin' but smiles!" Twilight screamed back, and then she grinned viciously, striding towards Rainbow Dash and breathing hard in and out as Scrivener cursed and shoved himself out of his seat, as the blue Pegasus trembled and stumbled backwards. "Now come on, sweetie, don't make this hard... you don't wanna end up like poor wittle Fluttershy, do you, who just couldn't keep her nosey-wosey clean..."

"W-What..." Rainbow stared, trembling, breathing hard before a snarl slowly spread over her face even as she shook her head in denial, whispering: "No. No way, no, no, it's... it's not possible. You... Twilight, please tell me you didn't... that it wasn't..."

But Twilight only licked her lips slowly in response, and Scrivener trembled, even as he held up a hoof and whispered: "Wait. Everypony just... just... just calm down, okay? Let's all just calm down and-"

"You never forget the smell of barbecued rat, do you sweetie-pie?" Twilight said softly, and Rainbow let out a howl before the Pegasus charged forwards and smashed into Twilight, but the violet mare only laughed as she took the hit, rolling backwards with the Pegasus and yelling furiously: "That's it! Let's play, let's put on a show for my puddin'! Watch me, watch me, watch me, puddin', and let me show you how much I've learned!"

Rainbow reared back, raising a hoof... only to take a hard punch to the face that sent a burst of blood from her nose before both Twilight's rear hooves slammed into her stomach, knocking the Pegasus mare backwards. She gargled and clutched at herself, and Twilight pounced on her, pinning her down by the shoulders as she mocked: "What's wrong, I thought you were supposed to be the best at everything you do?"

The Pegasus snarled, throwing a hoof hard upwards, the blow splitting open Twilight's lip and bloodying her muzzle... but the violet mare barely flinched before her tongue slid out and licked along the bloody wound, grinning wider as Rainbow shivered in horror. "Oh, poor sweetie. I think you meant to do this."

With that, she swung a hoof viciously down into Rainbow's face, smashing into her eye, making her cry out in agony before Twilight brought punch after punch after punch down into the Pegasus. She laughed as she did so, before cursing when Scrivener seized her and threw her backwards, the unicorn bouncing and rolling once before she landed on her back and looked up at him with a hurt expression, whining: "Puddin'! I was just startin' to have fun!"

Scrivener didn't even know how to respond, only shaking his head stupidly before Rainbow leapt up to her hooves and barreled forwards, smashing into Twilight and tackling her backwards. The two mares skidded into a shelf, knocking several loose books free as Scrivener cursed and Twilight snarled, shouting angrily as she dodged a punch from Rainbow: "Hey, no fair! I was talkin' to my puddin'!"

Twilight slammed both hooves up into Rainbow's stomach, knocking her backwards again as Scrivener lunged forwards into the fray, cursing as he tried to get between them. But Twilight slipped elegantly around him, moving with awful, sinuous grace as she dove past and seized Rainbow's shoulders, slamming her face-first into the ground before leapfrogging her fallen form with a laugh.

The unicorn landed easily on her hooves and skidded around as her eyes blazed... and a moment later, Rainbow Dash kicked both rear hooves hard outwards, Twilight crying out in shock as she was knocked rolling from the powerful double-kick. Scrivener winced, turning, grabbing at Rainbow, but she was already on her hooves and charging for Twilight as tears and blood streamed down her face. "How could you?"

"She was trying to take my sweet puddin' away from me! No one's gonna take my puddin' away!" Twilight shouted in return, then she swung her head forwards when Rainbow leapt at her, their skulls colliding and Rainbow collapsing senselessly before Twilight stepped forwards, slamming a front hoof down into her again, again, again, grinning as blood splattered up over her features as she said disgustedly: "Seems to me you're pretty fond of pain yourself, sweetie, seein' how you're just lyin' there lettin' me beat your face!"

"Stop it!" Scrivener shouted as he ran forwards, and he grabbed Twilight as she looked up with that same almost injured expression, shoving her backwards. She stumbled, her lower lip trembling as she stared at him, and the earth pony snarled at her, leaning forwards as he snapped: "What the hell are you doing? Goddammit, Twilight, who the hell are you?"

Twilight fumbled for a response, looking wildly back and forth... and then she snarled, tears in her eyes when Rainbow began to lift herself slowly, groggily up, and shrieked: "You! This is all your fault, tryin' to take him away from me! How dare you mess with my puddin's head! Now I'm gonna make sure you can't upset him ever again!"

Twilight leapt to the side, then lunged forwards as she lowered her horn, Rainbow looking up in stupid shock... and then Scrivener snarled and leapt between them, before he gasped when Twilight's horn sank into his flesh, feeling it driving to the hilt. He shivered hard, his eyes staring blankly at the floor as a bit of blood dribbled from his slack jaw, and then he gasped when Twilight stumbled backwards with a moan of horror, reaching up to cover her mouth with a hoof, staring in disbelief. Scrivener's blood rolled down her horn, spilled along her face like tears... and then she whimpered and leapt forwards when Scrivener collapsed, the earth pony staring mindlessly across the room.

Twilight leapt forwards, hugging him tightly, shaking him firmly as she whispered: "Puddin', puddin', oh no, no, no, don't die on me, baby, no, you come back to me... you... you... I was only ever tryin' to be what you wanted me to be..." She whimpered, trembled... and then her violet eyes flashed as she looked up at Rainbow Dash, glaring as the Pegasus stumbled slowly backwards before the unicorn hissed: "This is all your fault!"

And Scrivener trembled weakly as Twilight vaulted over him, his eyes sliding closed as he fell into darkness... and the last thing he heard was the sound of Rainbow Dash screaming, the last thing he felt was that he had failed to protect another of his friends.